Not all Who Wander
by Inferno56678
Summary: Jaune doesn't remember much since before she pulled him out of the ruins of the city. He remembers the bodies splayed out on the ground, the smoke that clogged the air, the hiss as Grimm bodies dissipated, but before that nothing. All he has is the silver pocket watch clenched tightly in his hand and scratched childishly on the inside panel 'Jaune'. (Chapters have been Reformatted)
1. A Not So Chance Meeting

**A Not So Chance Meeting**

The world of Remnant is not a kind one. It never has been. Humanity has etched its existence into it, clawing desperately for a foothold in this hostile world. The people of Remnant realizing the fragility of their existence, formed strongholds hoping for safety in numbers. The kingdoms of Vacuo, Vale, Mistral and Atlas each hold their strongholds against any opposing grimm and, to a lesser extent, those humans who would threaten their existence.

Even with the safety these kingdoms offer, there are those who choose to live in the so-called "Outlands" away from the protection of the kingdoms. Shunning the kingdoms, these souls eke out a living trading and farming, always wary of an approaching Grimm attack. These people do not trust outsiders; rightly so, for they make tempting targets cut off from the support of the kingdoms. Every so often, travelers will pass through. While not welcomed with open arms, if the traveler has something to trade, the village dwellers are content to leave them well enough alone.

Jacobs Holt was a man not easily surprised or bothered by unusual happenings. He had fought his fair share of grimm and considered them little more than a nuisance. He was the Captain of the Guard of this desert settlement and had been trained by a retired hunter living in the village when he was a boy.

Jacobs was known as a thoughtful man and not easily fooled; thus, he was one of the men who was assigned to guard the wall surrounding the settlement. He was the one who usually dealt with visitors due to his semblance, which allowed him to tell if a visitor held any ill will towards himself and by extension, the village. He spent much of his time searching for any sign of grimm or anomalies from his watch post. So, when he spotted a dust plume across the dessert, he clicked his radio on.

"Attention Guards, a dust plume had been spotted approximately 3 miles out. Over."

With that message relayed, Jacobs again focused on the rapidly approaching plume as more dust was sent flying into the air. Within a couple of minutes, the cause of the dust plume became visible as a figure came running towards the town. With a sigh, Jacobs clicked his radio back on:

"Sand walker sighted, heading towards the village. Over."

Barely registering the affirmative response, he continued looking outward. A minute later the figure had arrived at the village. The figure was almost entirely cloaked in a dusty cloth, leaving only metal gauntlets and the hilt of a sword clearly visible. Jacobs leaped down from the wall onto the sand, kicking up some dust.

"What is your business here Sand Walker?"

"I seek to resupply and have a short rest if any room is available," a male voice responded, rasping slightly. Jacobs nodded and replied:

"Alright, don't cause any trouble. The inn is located near the center of the village; just ask the innkeeper where to find the supplies you need. May I have a name?"

"Jaune,"

The man then slightly nodded his head in gratitude as Jacobs opened the gate to let him inside.

Jacobs watched Jaune walk past him and then turned off his semblance. _'He's Blue so he shouldn't cause any trouble for the village.'_ Jacobs then leaped back up the wall, taking advantage of some of the protruding stonework. As Jacobs went home for the night, his mind focused on his dinner, he almost bumped into another figure. Apologizing hurriedly, he kept walking.

The figure glanced towards the guard, but maintained his steady pace heading towards the village inn. Arriving at his destination, the figured slipped in through the door and started to scan the inn. There were about a dozen patrons drinking. _'Locals'_ , the figure's eyes settled on one figure who was seated at the bar and sipping at his beverage between bites of his meal _'Ah, found you'_. With purposeful steps, the man walked up to the bar and settled into the seat by the other man. Raising a hand to signal the bartender for a beverage, he turned to the right to address the other man.

"You're a hard man to find Jaune."

"Wouldn't make much of a Sand Walker if it was easy."

"Sand Walker" was a term used out here in the Outlands to signify a hunter who traveled the desert alone. Without the aid of a group, they ran across the desert from town to town taking on work wherever they could. Not really part of any organization, nor having any base of operations, they were hunters who valued the solitude of the desert. Each had their own reasons for the life they chose, but without a doubt they were skilled.

"True enough, I have a job for you."

"What?"

"A mutual acquaintance needs the help of someone like you."

"Why?"

"Have you heard about the recent unrest with the White fang?"

"Bombed a train or something, didn't they?"

"It was a dust train."

Pausing slightly, the man spoke again:

"I'm assuming the dust is now gone?"

"Yes."

"How much?"

"10,000 tons"

The man choked slightly on his drink.

"You see the problem?"

"Yeah. What do you want me to do?"

"There have been dust robberies in Vale too, and my organization would provide most generously if you were to investigate them."

"And when I do find the culprit?"

The man chuckled slightly.

"You misunderstand- we're not hiring you to find the culprit. We know who he is. We want you to find what this stolen dust is going to be used for. The man conducting the robberies in Vale is Roman Torchwick, who we have reason to believe is working for someone. We want you to search for clues to where the dust is being transported and why."

"How do you suggest I do that? A Sand Walker wandering around Vale isn't exactly going to be inconspicuous."

"Why you won't be wandering around as a Sand Walker. You'll be a student at Beacon of course!"

"..."

The other man merely smiled.

"We need a cover for you. Given that you're relatively young age, you could fit in as one of the academy's potential students. You won't be perceived as a real threat as another Hunter, since you are relatively unknown and you have the skills to protect yourself should anything untoward happen. Really, the perfect cover. My associates will provide the correct documentation and you'll get in just fine."

Shock would probably be the best way to define how Jaune was feeling right now. Controlling himself, he spoke with a slight edge to his voice: "What do you mean young?"

The other man smirked. "Oh, come now Jaune Blanc- you didn't think we would know nothing about you before we chose to hire you?"

Gritting his teeth, Jaune glared at the bemused man. This effort was made somewhat less effective by the cloth that covered his face.

Continuing, the other man stated "So what do you say, Mr. Blanc? Up for a bit of good old-fashioned espionage?"

Sighing heavily Jaune asked "Alright. If the pay's good, I'll do it."

Smiling happily, the man picked up his bottle: "Wonderful! I have a feeling this will be the start of an amazing partnership."

"Can I at least have your name first?" Jaune asked, clinking glasses with the other man.

"Ah! My name is Qrow Branwen."

* * *

Author's Note: Edited for grammer


	2. When in Vacuo

**When in Vacuo**

Jacobs groaned, wiping the sleep from his eyes as he trudged towards the gate. Last night he had stayed up late teaching his daughter the starting steps to molding aura to enhance one's strength. She had made good progress after he had stayed up late instructing her. 'I'll feel better as soon as I get some coffee brewing in the barracks.' As he came upon the gate, the sun's weak pre-morning rays illuminated two figures standing by it. _'Must be in a hurry to be up this early'_ he thought idly.

As Jacobs got closer, he was able to hear their voices whispering fervently.

"What the hell?! Why did you wake me up so early!?"

"Aww. Is the old man's age catching up with him?"

"I'm not old, damn it!"

"Check your hair again old man, looks like some silver's creeping in…"

The man with a red cape draped from his shoulders growled menacingly.

"Oh sorry. Did I hit a nerve?"

"You were so professional last night."

"That was before you challenged me to a drinking contest."

"You're just mad I beat you!"

"…"

"Ha! I knew it, I…"

Jacobs coughed politely, interrupting the man before he could continue. Both men started slightly and looked at Jacobs. Rubbing the back of his head with a bemused expression, Jacobs asked, "So I assume you guys want to head out?"

Both men nodded in unison.

"Alright, just let me get this gate open…" Jacobs strode over to the gate, unbarring it to let it swing open. The men glanced at each other and strode out of the gate, resuming their discussion in lowered tones. Jacobs with a start finally recognized one of them as the man he had let in yesterday. _'Funny; I thought he was alone…'_ Shrugging, he walked over to the guard house to start brewing some coffee and relieve the night watch.

Xxx

Qrow glanced over to the young man running next to him, sand spitting up under his feet from the impact of his feet. After they had left the gates, they had quickly used a map and compass to orient themselves. Then, they started their journey to Vacuo where they could take a bullhead to Vale. Until then they had to travel the old-fashioned way: Sand Walking. Sand Walking was an interesting art: while in principle was simple, in practice it took a great deal of skill to pull off.

Most Hunters used their aura to enhance their bodies a large amount for short periods of time, but with Sand Walking, the goal was the opposite. In Sand Walking, you had to concentrate a low amount of aura to your legs, focusing on increasing the power of each footfall and absorbing the recoil after. The goal of this technique was to allow the user to run at high speed across vast stretches of land. The challenge was keeping the aura usage sustained and consistent. If one screwed up, they would either end up blasted away or crashing face first into the sand. Neither were pleasant options.

Qrow himself had learned how to Sand Walk in his third year at Beacon, when his team had been called to do a mission in the Outlands. When they got there, they discovered that they would have to travel a fair distance to get to the village they needed to deliver supplies to. Their guide had quickly taught them the basics and then left them to try on their own and become adept at the skill as they headed towards the village. Sand Walking was a skill that Qrow had not used for a long time, and it showed. Jaune seemed to easily lope across the ground with the bare minimum of effort. Jaune had long, effortless strides, disproportionate to the sand flying away from each impact upon the ground.

Qrow shook himself out of his thoughts and glanced up at the sun. The sun had reached its zenith in the sky and its harsh rays scorched the land below. With a slightly rasping voice, due to having not drunk from his canteen for a while, he called out to Jaune.

"Should we stop soon?"

"No, if we plan to get to Vacuo within the day we need to maintain this pace."

"We won't stop for the night?"

With a shake of his head, Jaune replied, "Not much point in that, we're close enough to the city to make it within the day." Flashing a smirk, he continued, "Your age finally catching up to you, old man?"

Snorting, Qrow responded, "Not a chance…"

"…" with a smirk, Jaune waited.

Realizing what he had just said, Qrow scowled, "Screw you, I'm not old damn it!"

"They say hearing's the first thing to go in old age, which is good! Then you won't hear anybody laughing about your ridiculous cape."

"I'll have you know this cape is…"

Qrow trailed off as he stopped and held up his hand. Cupping his ear, he looked around.

Jaune paused and pulled back his hood, releasing his golden blonde hair. Cupping his ear, he channeled aura to ears modulating it carefully. The sensation that hit him was like the world had been on mute, and he had only now just turned on the volume. The sound of the wind blowing sand, the sparse vegetation rustling, Qrow's suddenly loud breathing, the gurgle of bodily fluids… these sounds assaulted his ears all at once. Jaune concentrated on tuning each sound out individually. There was something, but…

Qrow and Jaune both leapt into the air just in time for a monstrous black creature to burst from the ground. Sand cascaded around creature's scales that were the color of obsidian; they did not glint in the sun, they seemed to suck in the light. What could loosely be deemed as the head of the creature was a gigantic maw filled with thousands of ivory teeth. Letting loose an earthshaking roar, the creature titled its maw towards them, despite the lack of eyes on its head.

'Sand Wyrm'

Oddly in sync, the airborne men reached for their weapons. Qrow's sword glinted silver- grey, its clockwork hilt clicking madly away. Jaune's weapon, on the other hand, was a massive marbled black blade with a single edge gleaming silver. The red hilt contrasted against the golden guard of the broadsword that was approximately 6 feet in length and with the width of the blade being around a foot.

Jaune was the first to move, bringing his sword about to slam down onto the carapace of the Wyrm, causing a chilling screech of pain to emerge from the beast's hideous mouth. Qrow landed farther back and watched with interest as Jaune began to take apart the beast with fast, economical strokes. The Grimm didn't stand a chance as it was sliced to bits. Letting out a wail of death, it collapsed, causing a cloud of sand to rise into the air and disperse.

"Interesting, I see we didn't hire the wrong person." Qrow glanced at his companion appraisingly.

"…"

Staring up at the wispy clouds that floated through the sky, Qrow put his hands behind his head. _'He did well against the grimm, but what will happen when it's another human…?'_

Xxx

Vacuo was a city that stood on the edge of the desert, guarding the lush forest that stood behind it. The sun was barely peaking over the peaks of the mountain, shedding its final rays onto the city and illuminating and shadowing the buildings that stood tall in the city. As Qrow and Jaune walked down the streets, they looked through the various panes of glass that showcased each shop displayed.

"Look, you can't keep wearing that cloak! It's a dead giveaway!"

"I know! But do I really have to wear that!"

"It's a perfectly fine piece of clothing!"

"It's a red cape!"

"I know! Isn't it sweet?!"

Groaning, Jaune smacked himself in the forehead. _'I swear if the man wasn't the representative of my employer…'_

Ignoring the man's rants about how "awesome" capes were, he slipped into one of the stores. Qrow, finally calming down from his rant, minutes later looked around and sighed as he realized Jaune was gone. Spotting a glimpse of blonde hair in the crowd of shoppers, he moved towards it. The crowd of shoppers was surprisingly large, given that it was evening, 'Must not shop so much during the day due to the sun…'. Qrow slipped through the crowd and found Jaune, this time dressed in a brown hooded jacket with cream sleeves a red silk scarf wrapped around his neck. Jaune was also now wearing dark grey pants with tawny brown leather sandals. Holding a pair of cloth shopping bags over his shoulder, he gazed at Qrow, smirking slightly.

"Be honest, how much of what I said was empty air?"

"Eh? Did you say something?"

Sighing in despair at his unsuccessful attempt to convert Jaune to the glory of capes, he gestured for Jaune to follow him.

"We'll stay at a hotel tonight and we'll leave on a bullhead to Vale tomorrow morning."

Giving a nod of acknowledgement, Jaune followed Qrow through the twisting city the street lights that provided a soft gold illumination as the sun finally surrendered and fell past the mountains completely.

Xxx

The following morning, Jaune and Qrow boarded the bullhead to Vale. As the rumbling ship rose into the air, Jaune and Qrow sat back in their reserved cabin.

"So now that we are in private, we should work out the details of your backstory…"

"…" Jaune cocked an eyebrow.

"As you're going to be a student, you need to have come from somewhere. So, we've created fake records for you. You're going to be a previous student from Dusk academy. You requested to join Beacon and, due to your outstanding combat abilities and grades, were accepted in.

Nodding in thought, Jaune replied, "Seems like a good enough cover story; there aren't any actual students from Dusk attending are there?"

"No, all of them are moving on to Shade and, better yet, we got the headmistress to sign the necessary documents. So, by all intents and purposes, you attended and graduated."

Jaune's gaze sharpened slightly, "How influential is your group exactly?"

"Enough," Qrow smirked and leaned back in his chair, "Don't worry your pretty little head about it, The Great Qrow can be incredibly persuasive when the situation calls for it…"

"…"

"Don't give me that look!"

"…"

"I'm a talented, charming, and handsome hunter!"

"…"

"I hate you."

"… They don't really send you on the missions that require subtly do they?"

"I am totally subtle!"

"…"

"Oobleck had to prepare for class."

"…"

"Don't look so smug!"

Xxx

It took nearly four days for the bullhead to arrive at Vale. When the ship finally touched down at the sky docks, it was getting to be late afternoon. Stepping out into the afternoon sunlight, Jaune and Qrow blinked rapidly, acclimatizing to the new level of light. With a jerk of his head, Qrow gestured for Jaune to follow him. Sliding through the crowds, they made their way towards a hotel building.

Stepping into the hotel room, Qrow turned to face Jaune.

"Well I know you'll miss me terribly but I've got to go now. There's some stuff I still have to get done."

Snorting, Jaune turned to survey the room. It wasn't the lap of luxury, but it was more than serviceable as a place to rest for a couple nights.

Qrow continued, "The bullhead for Beacon is arriving two days from now. You'll need to get there by yourself and be ready for a small initiation. Meanwhile, we want you to scope around town and look for any hints of possible dust storage. Be careful out there; we don't really know who's behind this."

"I'm a big boy; I can handle myself."

"Right."

Jaune turned, slightly surprised at the lack of response to his jab.

Qrow stared at him seriously, "Be careful Jaune. This is serious business; you can get away with looking around somewhat because you're new in town. It makes sense that you would explore a bit, but if these people think you're looking around too inquisitively …"

"I get it, I'll be careful."

"Good, take care of yourself Jaune."

"Don't worry about me, old man… Take it easy out there- wouldn't want you to break a hip."

Smirking slightly, Qrow walked out.

Xxx

Jaune was bored.

As he wandered through the city of Vale looking through the stores to see if anything would catch his attention, he pondered where the dust robbers could possibly be. He had already wandered through the industrial district and then realized how long it would take to search the massive place. He had given up and decided to look through the stores to see if there had been any large dust shipments coming in. It turned out searching that way was even more useless, given how much technology ran on dust; at any given time, multiple stores were expecting large shipments.

This lead to his current boredom.

With no reasonable strategy in sight to try and locate these thieves, he decided that at least wandering around the city would be interesting enough. It was then he realized how utterly boring people were. As a Sand Walker, he had not spent much time in cities; instead, he spent his time wandering the wilderness. Thus, whenever he entered a village, it was a new exciting thing each time. Now having spent a day in town, he realized why he was distinctly out of his element. There were no grimm.

Every day in the desert, there were grimm everywhere, ready to come and end you, so there was a need to always be on guard. Here in this city, everything was too peaceful. The grimm were locked safely outside, and the people could ignore their threat.

Sighing again, Jaune looked desperately into a pane of glass, hoping for something, anything to happen.

His reflection stared back at him forlornly. Sighing, Jaune decided that there was only way to alleviate his boredom. With a determined look, he went off to find the nearest bar.

* * *

Author's Note: Edited for grammer


	3. If Humans were meant to fly

**If Humans were meant to fly**

The next day dawned bright and clear, and Jaune found himself on the bullhead headed towards Beacon. Looking out through one of the many windows, he found himself entranced by the view. The morning light's reflection off the buildings of the city was something truly wondrous. The light hit reflective glass and splintered, sending its rays cascading everywhere.

A voice broke him from his musings.

"Hello and welcome to Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."

As the image of 'Goodwitch' faded, Jaune adjusted the leather straps holding his sword. _'Well, it looks like it's time to get this show on the road.'_

As the bullhead settled, Jaune walked into the brilliant morning light and looked around interestedly. _'So, this is what a Hunter's academy looks like… It's… Honestly kind of boring.'_

There were no hints of anything dangerous like he expected. After all, how were you supposed to learn to fight the grimm without any grimm? _'Maybe I should have got more information…'_

Shrugging, Jaune continued his way forward, letting himself get swept along by the tide of humanity. That is, until he heard the explosion. Within an instant, he had spun towards the source of the explosion and brought his hand to the hilt of his sword, ready to draw.

"…"

Two girls stood in the epicenter of an explosion, which despite appearances, did not seem to have caused any harm. Quickly analyzing the scene, he spotted light reflecting off the dust that remained in the air. Looking back at the two girls, he saw one holding an open case which looked to contain several containers of dust. Sighing, he relaxed his grip on his sword he continued on.

 _'Seems like the only danger here is the students themselves. Really, who would open a case of dust in an area filled with hunters? The chances of something going wrong are…'_

Something clinked against his foot. Looking down he saw a vial of dust resting by his foot.

 _'Oh for the love of…'_

Jaune sighed and picked up the bottle. Noticing the cork was slightly ajar, he placed his thumb on top of the lid and pressed it back into place to firmly seal it. Moving towards the duo who had been joined by another girl, he took a second to analyze them.

The newcomer had a monochrome color scheme, but what interested him the most was how she stood. She stood lightly, so if an attack were to come in her direction she would be able to dodge with only a moment's notice. What really caught his attention was how the moment he started walking towards them, her bow twitched minutely.

 _'Hmmm odd…'_

The girl in white stood in a manner that suggested to him that she was filled with pride in herself and her skill. Noticing the positioning of her feet and the sword by her side, he labeled her as a fencer, though there was something off about her stance. He had not come across many who used rapiers, so he could not truly point to what was different from a more normal stance.

The final one wore black clothing also, but with a deep crimson cape that looked almost like…

 _'Please don't tell me that's his daughter… I'm not sure I could handle a world that cruel…'_

Shaking off these thoughts, Jaune analyzed her stance, but found little there to indicate what type of weapon she used. There were elements of her stance that looked like Qrow's, but other parts aspects were distinctly different. From the way her feet were positioned, he assumed she likely was fairly quick, given that her first response to aggression seemed to be flight.

Already regretting it, he moved towards the girl in white who was storming away and coughed politely.

The girl dressed in white turned to him glaring, haughtily.

"Excuse me, but I think you dropped something…"

The girl in white blushed a deep crimson and snatched the bottle from his hand. Glaring at the monochrome girl, she replied in a slightly conceited tone,

"Thank you, I'm glad someone here has manners."

"No problem," Jaune smiled in a disarming manner, "Be careful with those bottles though, that one was completely unsealed. I wouldn't want you to get hurt…"

If possible, her blush deepened and she quickly walked off in the direction of the school.

The girl who he hoped was not Qrow's daughter muttered something to herself and turned to face the space the newcomer had recently occupied recently, recently because she had already started walking off. Seeing this, the girl with the crimson cape folded, slumping to the ground.

"Welcome to Beacon." The girl muttered sadly to herself.

'…'

Jaune's mind stalled. How exactly was he supposed to deal with this?! If this was indeed Qrow's daughter, he couldn't just leave her there. Despite how annoying the man was, he had still become something of a friend on the journey here. Plus, leaving a young teenage girl to wallow in misery on the ground didn't seem like a particularly nice thing to do. Bracing himself, Jaune walked over to the girl.

"Uh, hi?"

Xxx

Ruby had not had a good day so far. Between her anxieties about what other students would think of her and the excitement of going to Beacon, she had not gotten much sleep. Yang had promptly abandoned her on arrival. She had knocked over some girl named Weiss Schnee's luggage, got yelled at, and was then abandoned again by the other girl.

"Uh, hi?" a young male voice roused her from her thoughts. Opening her eyes, she found two concerned blue ones staring back at her.

Xxx

 _'Silver eyes?'_

Mentally smacking himself, Jaune smiled awkwardly and offered a hand to the girl.

"Hey, my name's Jaune… is everything all right?"

The girl's eyes widened slightly and her face flushed a bright red.

"Oh! Um… Yeah, everything's fine!"

The girl reached up and grabbed his hand, and with a slight application of strength, Jaune pulled her to her feet. Seeing that she was back on her feet, Jaune started walking off. After a few steps, he realized that there were no footsteps behind him. Turning around, he saw the girl awkwardly poking her fingers together.

"Well, aren't you coming?"

The girls head shot up so fast Jaune worried she had given herself whiplash.

"Oh! Uh, yeah! I'm coming!"

Catching up to him, the two began to walk off.

"I'm Ruby by the way…"

Xxx

"Um… So… I got this thing!"

The sound of an activating mecha shift weapon caused Jaune's hand to reflexively fly towards his sword's hilt again. Processing seconds later the lack of danger, he noticed Ruby looking at him oddly.

"Oh! Um… Nice scythe!" he said weakly, trying to play off his reaction.

"It's also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle," Ruby said, grinning at him.

"Oh… Cool! Did you design it yourself?" Jaune replied with somewhat more feeling than his last statement.

"Yep! So, what do you got?" Ruby asked excitedly.

Jaune grabbed the hilt of his sword and unsheathed it with a tug. Twirling the blade, he brought it down in front of him so the girl would be able to examine the blade better. The girl's eyes practically shined.

"Wow! What does it do?!"

"Uh… Slices stuff?"

Cocking her head, the girl looked at him.

"Nothing else?"

"Uh no?" Seeing that the girl was unsatisfied with that answer, he tried to justify himself.

"Well you see I'm from Vacuo and I spent a lot of my time at Dusk going into the desert to fight grimm. In the desert, it's common that mechashift weapon gears will have issues from prolonged exposure. Thus, you need to do constant maintenance. I decided it would just be simpler if I didn't have to deal with that…"

The girl's eyes shone again.

"Ooh that's practical! Wait… you're from Dusk academy?! I'm from Signal! What's it like there? Do people really…"

 _'And I thought she was shy…'_

Xxx

Walking into the auditorium, Jaune took a moment to appreciate the vast structure. With high ceilings and beautiful designed stonework, the hall was impressive to say the least.

"Hey Ruby over here! I saved you a spot!"

His companion next to him startled and looked to the blonde girl who was apparently calling for her.

Glancing over towards him Ruby said in a rush, "Oh! Hey, I have to go. I'll see you after the ceremony." With that, she ran off to go join the blonde.

 _'Whew, it's over…'_

Trying to field questions about a city he had barely been in was surprisingly difficult, Jaune noted. Apparently, if he was going to try and keep up this cover, he might need to do a bit of investigation into his 'home'. Slipping his way into the throng of people, he found himself near the front of the auditorium. Leaning back against a wall, he did his best to try and not stand out. This was surprisingly easy given that he had a massive sword on his back, but as he looked around, he noticed that everyone seemed to have fairly unique weapons.

 _'Hunter school, right… I should have expected this.'_

The sound of a mike turned Jaune's attention to the stage at the front. There stood the woman who spoke on the aircraft _'Goodwitch, wasn't it?'_ and a man with grey hair and spectacles.

"I'll...keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge-to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But as I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose-direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

As the man with grey hair walked away slowly, Jaune noticed his eyes sweeping the crowd. They fell upon Jaune and, with an almost imperceptible nod, he continued walking away. Jaune ignored the blonde woman who was now talking and slipped back through the crowd towards the exit. Exiting the auditorium, he walked up to one of the fountains. After a few minutes, the grey- haired man walked up to the fountain.

"I see you've arrived safely."

"I take it you're Ozpin?"

"I am."

Qrow, on the bullhead ride to Vale, had informed Jaune of the various people he would meet there that would provide him the information he needed. Among them the key person was Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon.

"I'm sorry to say this, but I was unable to locate anything with the time I had in the city."

"Perfectly all right, we didn't expect much progress to be made in a couple of days."

"So why did you call me out here?"

"For this."

Ozpin held up a transparent rectangular piece of glass. Ozpin handed the item to Jaune who, after being prompted, placed his index finger on it. Looking up at Ozpin, Jaune cocked an eyebrow.

"This device is called a 'scroll'; normally we pass them out to students after initiation, but it's more beneficial for you to receive yours now so I can explain the items pertaining to your mission. The device holds my contact and information along with Qrow's. There is a file labeled 'Work' that holds all the data we have gathered so far. If something happens and your cover has been blown, activate the emergency distress beacon. It will broadcast your signal and I'll have a team get there to extract you as quickly as possible."

Jaune nodded as he fiddled with the menu option in the scroll, looking through the items Ozpin was talking about.

"If you have need of funds, contact me, I will provide for any resources you may need. Your payment will be delivered to an account in your name for the duration that the mission proceeds."

Jaune paused as he came across the application that was linked to his new bank account. The number slightly shocked him.

"That's quite a lot to pay one person."

"Try not to fail then. Good luck Mr. Blanc."

Xxx

Yawning tiredly, Jaune walked through the hallways of Beacon.

After the assembly had commenced, the students had been led to their lockers to put their weapons away and then to the cafeteria for dinner. Jaune had snatched some of the food up and quickly downed it, not stopping to sit down at any of the tables.

He then received some instructions on how to get to the sleeping area from the teacher who was overseeing them.

 _'Port? Something like that…'_

Jaune then set up his sleeping roll before getting changed. Noticing that there were showers he had quickly utilized one to clean himself up. Showers were a rare luxury for him, as he spent enough time living in the wilderness, he usually used an oasis to wash himself. Stepping out of the shower, he toweled himself off and slipped on a pair of sweatpants he had purchased in Vacuo. Jaune's damp blonde hair fell into his eyes and, sighing in annoyance, he brushed it back. Reaching into his pile of clothing, he pulled a short dagger out. With a few deft practiced swipes, he had trimmed his hair so that it would not hamper his sight. Strapping the dagger to his calf, he tossed the rest of his clothing into a cloth bag.

Jaune quickly traveled back to his locker and hung his clothing up. As he walked out of the storage area, he started to head back to the sleeping area.

As he entered the designated sleeping area, he saw that the rest of the students had arrived. The students were setting up their sleeping bags and chatting among themselves. Ignoring them, Jaune moved towards his sleeping bag, stepping between sprawled bodies.

Reaching his destination, he slipped into his bag and then realized an unforeseen issue. Even though the students were only softly chattering, there was still too much human mass around him. Jaune was used to sleeping in the wilderness or in a single room in an inn. He had teamed up with other Sand Walkers for a job, there had been three other people sleeping around him in the wilderness, at most.

Realizing the futility of trying to sleep, Jaune slipped out of his sleeping bag and re-rolled it. Trying to remain inconspicuous, he managed to slip out of the room.

"There he is! Jaune! Over here!"

 _'I'm cursed'_

Wincing slightly, he turned to face an excited Ruby standing next to the blonde girl from the auditorium.

"Um… Hey Ruby!"

The blonde girl stepped forward, slightly invading his body space.

"Mm very nice…"

Cocking his head, Jaune stared at the blonde, slightly confused.

"I'm Ruby's sister. It's nice to meet you!"

Taking Yang's extended hand, he shook with her, noting the strength of her grip.

"My name's Jaune, but I think you already knew that…"

Ruby then interjected herself into the conversation.

"Woah! You have a tattoo! That's so cool!"

'Ah… I may have made a mistake not wearing a shirt'

A black sun was inked into the skin of Jaune's left pectoral. All he could do was hope that neither of them understood the significance of it.

"Oh yeah! I got it before I graduated from Dusk."

Jaune winced as he realized he had brought the topic back to his 'school'; Ruby decided that now was the perfect time to ask more questions. Jaune, noticing that students were slowly settling down for bed, took an opportunity that presented itself.

"Hey, I would love to talk more, but it seems like people are going to bed…"

Ruby deflated slightly at that, gaining the expression of a kicked puppy.

 _'Wow… That expression is really way too adorable'_

Doing his best to placate her he grinned, "Don't worry; I'm sure we'll have more time to talk later…"

"Promise?"

"Of course!"

Waving goodbye, Jaune headed towards his destination- the doors to the hallway. Glancing around and seeing that no one was really paying him attention, he slipped out.

Jaune slipped through the silent hallways of Beacon, eventually coming to an exit to the outside world. As Jaune walked out, he took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh night air. Looking around, he saw that there was a flat roof on one of the nearby buildings. With a couple of jumps, he had landed at his new resting place. Unrolling his sleeping bag, Jaune laid down and exhaled, going to sleep almost instantly.

Xxx

The morning sun shone brilliantly in the sky as Jaune arose. Rerolling his bag, he stood up and stretched, yawning cavernously. Blinking in the morning light, he settled his body into a familiar stance that he had learned long ago. Bringing his arms around his body slowly, he placed his feet with care upon the stone. Jaune focused inward to the source of energy inside of him. Like windstorm, it surged through him, swirling about uncontrolled. Jaune closed his eyes, focusing entirely on his body and the source of energy. With a deep breath, he jumped into action; his body spun through the sky and his legs sliced the air. Landing lightly on his hands, he pushed his body up to soar through the air again.

While Jaune's body was in motion, he focused on the energy inside of him. Jaune focused and began to adjust the energy as his body continued to fight the air. Finally feeling the energy synced with his body, the tumultuous storm died down into a gentle breeze. He opened his eyes again. Letting lose the breath he had taken at taken at the start, Jaune grabbed his sleeping roll to head back inside.

Xxx

' _I think I'm going to get spoiled by these showers'_

Stepping out of the shower, Jaune dried himself off and put on the clothes he had retrieved earlier. Stepping out of the room, he had headed towards the cafeteria. Snagging some food, he sat down to eat in the mostly empty cafeteria; students finally began to trickle in. Finishing his breakfast, Jaune fished a silver pocket watch out of his pocket. Checking the time, he saw that it was only half an hour to the start of initiation. Jaune stood up and headed towards the lockers to retrieve his sword. Slipping past an evidently excited girl and her more stoic companion, Jaune walked into the locker room, glancing around to see a couple of students readying themselves.

Arriving at his locker, Jaune's mission was interrupted by two girls standing in front of it, discussing something about 'teaming up.' Recognizing the girl with white hair as the one from the previous day, Jaune nodded politely as he passed her. The other girl with red hair was standing in front of his locker.

"Excuse me miss, may I get to my locker?"

The girl looked mildly surprised for an instant, but nonetheless stepped aside. Jaune popped open his locker and withdrew his sword. Slipping the harness over his head, he tightened some straps and rolled his shoulder, making sure the sword was secured. Turning back around, he saw that the red-haired girl was looking at him, appraisingly ignoring her companion who had started chuckling maniacally to herself.

 _'Huh? What does she want?'_

Internally shrugging, Jaune smiled and nodded at her and walked outside into the fresh morning air. Ozpin and Goodwitch stood to the side of a series of grey metal circles set into the ground. Goodwitch directed him to stand on one and Jaune followed her instructions, a little bemused.

After about fifteen more minutes, the students had all arrived, and Jaune had again been engaged in conversation by an excited Ruby. Thankfully, she had moved on from questions about Vacuo to discussing the upcoming initiation.

Their conversation was interrupted by Ozpin as the last students filed out of the school.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest. There have been rumors about your partners. Let me answer them, you will be paired up today. The first person you make eye contact with shall be your partner. You will enter the forest and retrieve a relic and then return here. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die."

 _'Partners, huh? Well this might be an issue…'_

Glancing at Ozpin, Jaune cocked an eyebrow. Ozpin noticed this and nodded slightly.

 _'Huh… Wonder what he's planning…'_

As the first students were launched, Ozpin wandered over to stand by him.

"Whoever your pair up with will be temporary and when you leave we'll assign them a new partner," muttered Ozpin softly.

This slightly stunned Jaune. He had met hunters previously and the partner of a hunter was probably one of the single most important things to them. Breaking up the bond even if it was recent just wasn't done…

Seeing Jaune's expression, Ozpin sighed. "I don't like it either, but if you're to fit in as a student, there is really no other choice."

Nodding slightly, Jaune stared forward, concentrating.

"Good luck Jaune! Maybe we could be on the same team!" called out Ruby, as she too was launched.

With a hiss, the spring under Jaune fired, sending him flying into the air. Twirling in the air to bring his feet under him, Jaune focused on a rapidly approaching tree branch. With a burst of power, he connected, then repelled himself off the branch, sending his body flying forward. Bouncing from tree to tree, he eventually came to a stop.

As Jaune looked around the clearing he had arrived in, he heard an echoing gunshot from above. Looking up he spotted and incoming black mass with a fluttering red cape. The mass twirled a scythe and with another gunshot, slowed their landing to the forest floor so that they could land softly next to him. The mass who was Ruby looked up excitedly at him.

"Awesome! We're partners, Jaune!"

As Ruby stared up at Jaune, adorably happy, Jaune only had a few thoughts on the matter.

' _Well shit.'_

* * *

Author's Note: Edited for Grammer


	4. Whoever fights monsters

**Whoever fights monsters**

Jaune had to admit, Ruby certainly had skill. As they had moved through the forest, the grimm they had come across had been quickly dispatched with little to no action on his part. Ruby had flickered about at high speeds, cleaving grimm in two. Only a few grimm had got anywhere near him, which they soon regretted as he cleaved them in half. While she was skilled, her lack of experience showed. Ruby would rush headlong within an instant of the grimm appearing and focus on wiping them out.

 _'A dangerous habit_ …'

Still, she was more than competent and Jaune had little doubt that she would grow into a fine huntress with some more experience under her belt.

'Still…'

Jaune sighed. He was dodging around the issue. Ruby, for all her skill, was a 15-year-old teenage girl. He on the other hand was… well, a mercenary wouldn't be too off. When his contract ended, he would leave Beacon and thus Ruby. At first, when Ozpin had informed him of the plan, he hated the idea, but had decided that it would end up alright. He would partner up with some student; they might become friends within the next couple of months, and then he would leave. The student could acquire a new partner and he could move on to his next job. While not optimal, the fallout wouldn't be catastrophic.

"Hey, Jaune! Are you all right?" Ruby's concerned voice pierced Jaune's thoughts. Jaune smiled at Ruby, though the smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Of course! Don't worry about me… just thinking…"

Still looking concerned, Ruby nodded.

 _'I really should have known better…'_

When one awakened their aura, they essentially ridded themselves of the shell that surrounded their soul. The shell surrounding one's soul is there to separate them from the world aura. A Hunter's soul, when released, intermingled with the world and eventually, they developed a trait known as a semblance. A worldly expression of their souls. The interaction of a soul is not limited to the passive aura of the world.

The souls of humans could also interact with each other. Two unchained auras could intermingle with each other, passing a bit of each soul to the other. Hunters took advantage of this fact; the reason behind the system of partners was so that Hunters could bind their souls together through a bond. Through this bond, they could share strength, but this was not the main purpose. When one fought grimm, they fought an absence of soul. Something horrifying and unnatural that wore on unprotected souls, slowly eroding them away through continued exposure. Hunter partners acted as guardians of the soul of the other. The fact of the matter was unless a Hunter was incredibly strong, contact with the grimm would eventually destroy one's sanity.

Of course, this bonding process was explained to hunters after they received a partner and had spent at least a year with them to ensure compatibility. Before then, prospective Hunters were trained to create an artificial shell around their souls to protect them against the grimm. The shell also served to prevent from souls accidently intermingling and bonding. Students attending a secondary Hunter school had usually mastered the shell, but at times a young hunter's shell could slip, especially when excited.

Ruby had slipped.

Normally, this wouldn't be a problem either. The shell could be reinstated in seconds and all was well.

 _'Really it's my fault…'_

Pain. Horrible pain ripping through him. Tearing and ripping him to shreds. Gone. Alone.

When a hunter bonded with another hunter it was for life. The souls of each hunter intermingled and were shared. If one hunter died… There is a reason why there are stories of hunters collapsing when their partner perished. Why hunters would go berserk screaming and sobbing, throwing themselves at grimm till they perished. The loss of a bond of souls was considered worse than death. Those who survived would often retreat within themselves till they withered away. The few who didn't would eventually recover somewhat, their soul mending itself. The soul, while eventually recovering its strength, would still constantly reach out, trying to desperately latch onto what it had once lost. These incomplete souls were termed 'Wandering Souls.'

The only known way to heal a wandering soul was for the hunter to bond with another hunter. Furthermore, the soul that the hunter bonded to would have to share enough characteristics with the previous Hunter's soul to allow the bond to occur. The circumstances were so rare Jaune only knew of two occurrences where a hunter with a wandering soul had been able to forge another bond.

Tentatively, Jaune focused on his aura. What had once been an angry storm that he had to tune every day to utilize, and even just before he had been launched had been starting to stir, was now starting to settle. He wasn't healed, but even this minor improvement was an incredible feeling. Already regretting it, he reached out to the part that was missing… had been missing since…

Warmth provided him a joyous energy just like…

' _No… Don't go there…'_

Looking at Ruby again, who was chattering about something, Jaune could only tiredly grimace. Ruby deserved to know, but he had no idea how to bring the topic up. What made it worse was that their souls were already synchronizing. Jaune could already feel the faint glimmer of her presence settling into his senses. Even without looking, he sensed that she was a bright ball of energy. The fact she had never been part of a bond before made her unaware of his soul connecting with hers.

 _'I guess I'll just have to figure something out…'_

Ruby's voice finally broke him out of his thoughts.

"Hey Jaune! Look I think we found the relics!"

Looking to where Ruby was pointing, Jaune saw a ruined circular structure with pedestals situated around the center each containing a gold or black object. Nodding his head in affirmation, he walked to the structure with Ruby keeping pace by him.

As he entered the structure and got a better look, he realized that these objects were chest pieces. Going up to one of the stands, he looked at Ruby questioningly.

"This one?"

Ruby shrugged in response, "I guess…"

Grabbing a gold rook, he stared at it appraisingly.

"Well, I guess that means we should head back…"

"Ruby!"

Jaune recognized the voice of Yang as he turned around to see her walking inside the structure with a red headed girl who was incredibly pale.

 _'Wasn't she the one in front of my locker earlier?'_

Seeing that Ruby had engaged Yang in conversation, he walked over to join them.

"So, you're my little sister's partner eh?"

Jaune smiled in a slightly forced manner, "Yes, Ruby is really very skilled; she is an exceptional partner."

Ruby's face reddened slightly and Yang smiled ruffling her sister's hair.

"See? Nothing to worry about little sis! Jauney boy here likes you!"

Jaune cocked an eyebrow and looked at Ruby questioningly.

Ruby's cheeks blushed as she stuttered out, "I-I was worried that you didn't think I was good enough and…"

As Ruby's stuttering became unintelligible, Jaune mentally smacked himself. No wonder she was charging in head first to fight the grimm. Ruby was trying to impress him. He had been so lost in his own thoughts and worries that he had given Ruby the wrong impression. Smilingly in a slightly more genuine manner, he placed his hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"It's fine Ruby, you don't need to worry about it. We're partners. If you give your best, that's more than enough."

Ruby's face matched her name in color as she nodded back at him. Turning back to face Yang, he nodded to who he assumed was Yang's partner.

"I believe we met earlier. My name's Jaune."

"My name's Pyrrha Nikos," she responded, looking slightly weary as she said her name.

Jaune nodded at her and giving a final look around, the temple he said, "Well, as nice as it was to meet you, we should probably cut this short and head back. Don't want to keep the headmaster…"

Jaune trailed off as the sound of explosions and a large mass ripping through the forest reached his ears. Spinning to face the sound, he drew his blade, resting it on his shoulder. His fellows likewise followed his example, prepping their weapons. With a final crash, an Ursa burst through the foliage, rearing up and then collapsing to the ground.

"Aww it's broken…" an orange haired girl jumped down from the Ursa, wielding an incredibly large hammer. Following that statement with a rustle, a boy with raven hair stepped through the bushes panting.

"Nora… Please don't do that again."

His statement fell on empty air because Nora had already vanished. With a cry of joy, she picked up a golden rook and started dancing around.

"I'm the Queen of the Castle! I'm the Queen of the Castle!"

"Nora!"

"Coming, Renny!"

 _'And I thought Ruby was energetic…'_

Jaune's thoughts were interrupted as another pair emerged from the forest. This pair was made up of the two girls he had seen Ruby with yesterday. The monochrome duo walked silently to the structure and the girl with white hair picked up a golden knight. The duo walked over to stand with the rapidly growing group. Yang cleared her throat, grinning slightly.

"Seeing as how we're all here, we might as well introduce ourselves. I'll go first. I'm Yang Xiao Long."

"Pyrrha Nikos."

The white-haired girl tossed her hair slightly.

"Weiss Schnee."

"Blake Belladonna."

"Lie Ren."

"Nora!" the orange-haired girl shouted out, giggling.

"Ruby Rose."

 _'Maybe she's not related to Qrow after all…'_

"Jaune."

Jaune finished last and looked around the assembled group.

"So, shall we be off?"

Receiving nods of affirmation, he turned and walked back towards the cliffs; the rest of the group behind him, with Ruby stepping up to walk by his side.

As they passed under the green foliage, the slight rustling of the hunter's bodies brushing past wayward branches and their conversation was the only sound that broke the silence.

The silence of the forest around him unnerved Jaune. Shifting his body slightly, Jaune scanned his surroundings. Nothing. Concentrating, Jaune channeled a small amount of aura to his ears. It was quiet, unnaturally so… It was almost like…

A sound

 _'Is that…'_

Jaune glanced behind him.

 _'Have any of them noticed?'_

The boy named Ren who stood next to a chattering Nora had an impassive face, but Jaune could see by his posture that he was tense. Blake was similarly tense, though her bow was twitching strangely…

Jaune noticed that the trees were thinning and as they emerged from the forest into an area bordered by a cliff. A chasm split the center of the clearing and single bridge was visible in the distance.

"That's our exit? I have to say that I expected more…" Yang's words trailed off as growls came from the forest and various grimm emerged. As the would-be hunters readied themselves and their weapons, Ruby looked to her side at Jaune. The words on her lips died as she realized he was missing.

Xxx

Jaune moved through the forest, his movements causing nary a sound to break the unnatural quiet. Looking around he decided he was far enough from the group. Reaching his hand behind his back, he grabbed the hilt of his sword and drew it with a flick of his wrist.

"Well come on; I don't have all day."

The air whistled as a golden spike tore through it. With a flick of his wrist, Jaune slammed his blade into the spike, sending it off course. Before him stood a Death Stalker. The grimm that had followed the hunters through the forest had been attracted by the gathering of the Hunter's souls. By themselves, the grimm posed little to no threat to the tyro hunters; but with a Death Stalker added into the mix... Death Stalkers were known to lie in wait during battle, ready to take advantage of a perceived weakness.

Therefore, Jaune had left the group. As a hunter leaving the protection of the numbers of a group, the Death Stalker saw weakness.

The spike dove forward again and Jaune merely angled his blade, sending the spike skittering off. Launching his body forward, he slammed his weapon against the claw that tried to attack him, planting the tip of the sword into the ground. Pivoting his body, he spun through the air, bringing his sword around with his spin to smash into the Death Stalker. The blade bit deep into the grimm's armor, the force of the swing leaving cracks across the black material. The Death Stalker, still very much alive, shot its pincer forward causing Jaune to spin his body using his sword as a base. Directing his aura to his muscles, he slammed his right palm into the pommel of his weapon, sending it completely through the Stalker and embedding the tip of the sword into the ground. The Stalker's body collapsed, slowly dissolving into ash-like flakes.

 _'Well… That's done.'_

Xxx

"Jaune Blanc, Ruby Rose, Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie. These students shall make up team RNJR, pronounced Ranger and led by Ruby Rose."

Ruby looked as if she had been slapped; Jaune gently put his hand on her shoulder to steer her forward as polite clapping echoed throughout the hall. Jaune walked down with his new team.

Jaune had seen both Ren and Nora in action, arriving in time to witness the last of the grimm's demise. Both were quite skilled, Nora could cause a great deal of damage with her hammer grenade launcher combo; Ren was precise and efficient, dispatching any grimm that came near him.

Jaune had hoped they would not notice his disappearance in the chaos of battle. This hope had been dashed by a worried Ruby checking him over, asking if he was all right. Jaune had spent the rest of the journey trying to allay Ruby's fears, saying he had just ended up being separated by some grimm who hadn't caused him any real trouble. It was technically close to the truth.

As Ruby's sister was called up along with the other half of their group, Jaune sighed to himself. He was unsure of what to do. To investigate and work on his contract, he would have to disappear from time to time. Having a worried partner looking for him could cause serious issues. Worse, he could feel a faint sense of excitement tinged with worry in the back of his mind. An emotion that distinctly was not his own. The bond he had with Ruby was growing at an unprecedented rate. From what he had read, it should take weeks for the bond to be at the point it was now. When he had bonded with… _her_ … their bond had cemented into place within two months. Jaune desperately tied to recall more of the text he had found on wandering souls. He could faintly recall a mention of how the two hunters who had been able to bond again established a full bond within two weeks.

 _'Damn it'_

His job had just become a lot more complicated.

* * *

Authors Note: Edited for Grammer


	5. The First Day of the Rest of Your Life

**The First Day of the Rest of Your Life**

 _Is this Hell?_

 _Bodies lay scattered across the sand contorted in death, crimson fluid staining the sand beneath them._

 _They had won, but at what cost?_

 _His eyes searched frantically over the landscape, desperately searching for someone, anyone, who was still breathing. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught motion, and, spinning around, he stared into the face of Death itself. A bone-white mask glared at him._

 _With a scream of rage, he leaped forward, exhaustion all but forgotten; with a savage grin, he channeled his aura and slammed his fist into the Mask obliterating it and the midnight black body behind it. Panting heavily, he sunk to the ground as the gentle hiss of the grimm dissolving reached his ears._

 _Even this victory would not be enough._

 _Once again, he surveyed the landscape and only the dead greeted his eyes._

 _Was this hopeless?_

 _He could feel the last of his energy leaving his worn body and slowly his body crumpled down to the ground. Looking down at his blood-soaked clothes, he finally acknowledged he was dying._

 _"I'm sorry."_

 _Blood dribbled from his mouth and as his vision grew dark, he caught a glimpse of a familiar cloak and her panicked voice filtered into his fading hearing._

 _"Jaune! Jaune! Stay with me!"_

 _Xxx_

Jaune's eyes snapped open, frantically looking around and desperately searching; that is, until his mind finally caught up and he slumped back down into his bed. He could feel a faint wetness trickle down his cheek, causing him to reach up to wipe away something hot and wet from his face. Refusing to acknowledge what it could have been, Jaune rolled out of bed his feet meeting the cool floor.

Stepping into the center of the room, he surveyed his surroundings critically. Last night, Ruby had gone into a frenzy at the lack of space in the room; so, they had transformed the beds into bunk beds. Even having little to no knowledge of construction, Jaune seriously doubted what the team had done was in any way structurally sound. It had raised questions from his team about his lack of belongings. As a nomad, Jaune was used to traveling light and only carrying what he absolutely needed on his person. Clothes, his weapon, money, and a couple of books were the extent of his openly shown belongings. He had packed his survival gear and cloak into a travel bag and deposited it swiftly under his bed. Keeping the bag out in plain sight would have simply raised questions that he had no answers to.

A soft mumble drew his attention to his team leader. Ruby lay curled up in her bed located directly above his own, softly snoring mumbling softly in her sleep. Without meaning, to his face softened.

 _'_ _She's so innocent…'_

Shaking himself free of his thoughts, he silently padded out of the room.

Xxx

Sweat ran down his body as Jaune finished his morning training. The sun had just begun to breach the sky, its weak light illuminating his surroundings. He could already feel the difference in his aura; it had taken considerably less effort to soothe it today and, even now, he could feel the sense of other a small distance away. A sigh gusted out of Jaune's mouth as he sunk to his knees, contemplating the situation he had gotten himself into.

' _I should tell her, she has the right to know. What do I do after that, though? It's not like I can just tell her that I'm not actually a student. This mission's barely started and I have no leads, a partner, and a bond that's dangerous to both myself and her.'_

With a growl, Jaune shook himself furiously; that was a dangerous path to go down and he knew better than that. What was done was done. Sighing to himself, Jaune walked back inside and navigated himself through the hallways of Beacon, eventually coming to the door of his team's room. As quietly as possible, he reentered the room to see that none of his teammates had stirred yet. Grabbing his uniform, he headed to the bathroom to take a shower.

Xxx

Jaune emerged from the bathroom and softly padded over to his team leader. Starring at her peaceful face, he almost felt bad about attempting to wake her up. Shrugging the feeling aside, he spoke softly.

"Come on Ruby, time to get moving."

At his voice, Ruby's eyes shot open and looked around widely, panic in her eyes frantically moving her hands towards her stomach searching for something. Through the fog of sleep had not quite lifted, she seemed to aware of her surroundings enough to notice Jaune. She shot forward from her bed, landing on an unprepared Jaune with all the speed her semblance granted her. Laying on the ground, Jaune could only bemusedly wonder what exactly had happened. This bemusement was replaced by worry as he felt Ruby's body trembling slightly. With a quavering voice, Ruby spoke.

"They're all dead."

 _'_ _What the hell…'_

As Ruby's began to calm, she seemed to realize what she had done and began stuttering an apology before bolting into the bathroom and slamming the door. Jaune slowly sat up and sat down on his bed, trying to decipher what had just happened. Loud yawns and the shifting of covers alerted him to the rest of his team awakening. Putting Ruby's behavior aside, for now, he greeted the rest of his Teammates. Receiving a sleepy nod of acknowledgment from Ren and a hyper 'good morning' from Nora, he fell back onto his bed to wait for his team to ready themselves.

After an indeterminate amount of time, he heard feet padding up to his bed and then the shifting of his mattress as another body settled atop it.

"H-hey Jaune…"

Cracking open an eye, he looked up to see a nervously shifting Ruby staring at him.

"What's up?"

"I'm sorry about earlier this morning…"

"Don't worry about its fine, no harm done."

Ruby nodded gratefully and the pair proceeded to wait for Ren and Nora to finish their morning routines.

Xxx

As team RNJR sat down to eat, Jaune could only wonder at his team dining habits. Ren had the healthiest looking meal out of all of them if the amount of green on his plate was any indication. His partner, Nora, had the largest stack of pancakes that Jaune had ever laid eyes upon. Ruby on the other hand… well, at least she was getting something to eat, even if it was cookies. Jaune, by contrast, had just picked up whatever he could and began to methodically eat his meal. Conversation flowed easily between Nora and Ruby, with Ren quietly listening and adding a comment from time to time. Noticing that other students were beginning to leave, Jaune took a glance at his scroll.

"Looks like class is going to start soon."

The rest of his team nodded acknowledging him and as a group, they rose and headed off to their first class.

Xxx

"Monsters, demons, prowlers of the night. Yes, the creatures of grimm have many names!"

As Professor Port continued his lecture to the young hunters in training, Jaune stared blankly off into space. Ruby quietly doodled next to him. Even though he was technically a student, Jaune couldn't bring himself to care about Port's attempt at teaching. Trying to alleviate his boredom, Jaune took a glance at what Ruby was doodling. Though admittedly crude, he recognized what she was drawing in an instant.

 _'_ _A Sand Wyrm?'_

It simply didn't make sense; as far as Jaune knew Ruby had never been anywhere near the outlands, where the wyrms roamed freely.,

 _'_ _Maybe she saw it in a book?'_

Yes, that must be it, because there was no way Ruby had ever encountered one of those creatures. Still, something nagged at Jaune; the drawing seemed to stare directly through him.

"A true Huntsman must be honorable! A true Huntsman must be dependable! A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise! So, which of you believes they embody these traits?"

Port's booming voice knocked Jaune out of his thoughts, causing him to once more look to the front of the class and observe what was going on. A white blur caught his attention and Jaune saw Weiss raising her hand, a fierce pride burning in her eyes.

 _'_ _Looks like she's got something to prove.'_

"I do sir!"

"Well, let's find out."

Xxx

Weiss did indeed fight like a fencer dancing around her opponent, firmly focused on defeating the Boarbatusk. Finally, she managed to gain the upper hand as she stopped the Boarbatusk's rolling charge with a shining glyph. Using another glyph, she launched herself forward to impale the grimm's belly. In a show of elegance and grace, she withdrew the weapon from the body of the deceased grimm and flourished it before sheathing the rapier.

Jaune noticed that immediately after doing so, she looked toward Pyrrha as if looking for approval. In turn, she received a gracious smile from Pyrrha, causing Weiss to flush.

"Bravo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Huntress-in-training!"

As the class came to an end, Jaune stood up, stretching his body, not used to sitting in the same position for so long. Ruby stood up next to him, clutching the paper held tightly to her chest. As Jaune and his team began to walk to the exit, Ruby split off from the group and walked up to Port who looked down in surprise at seeing one of his students approach him.

"Is something the matter Ms.…"

"Rose, I just have a question that's been bothering me."

"Well ask away, Ms. Rose!"

"I can't remember where I saw this, but do you know what type of grimm this is?"

Ruby held up her picture and Port's eyes widened slightly.

"That, Ms. Rose, is what's known as a Sand Wyrm. They're an incredibly dangerous grimm species due to their ability to burrow beneath the sand taking their prey unaware and slipping away before any harm can come to them. Thankfully, they are only located in the outlands, so it'll be awhile before you encounter them. If ever."

Ruby nodded, looking at the picture again before folding it away.

Xxx

For lunch, they were joined by team PYWN, who had been dragged to their table by Yang. The members enjoyed their lunch with pleasant conversation; Jaune would have tried to take part in, until he realized that he had no idea what the teams were talking about. He could only listen in confusion as they discussed bands, scroll games, and other things he had never heard about. Hearing his scroll ping, he reached into his pocket and retrieved the device and saw a single message emblazoned across the screen.

"Meet me in 10, East courtyard."

 _'_ _Not like I have anything better to do.'_

Scraping his chair slightly across the ground Jaune, rose to his feet drawing the attention of the group towards himself. Forcing a smile onto his face, he responded to their questioning looks.

"Sorry, got to go study and all that."

Exchanging goodbyes with the group, he headed out of the cafeteria, maneuvering through the hallways. He eventually arrived at his destination; to his surprise Qrow stood there with a deadly smirk on his face.

"So, what's this I hear about you partnering with my niece?"

 _'_ _So, they were related…'_

"I didn't realize that you were hanging around here, old man."

"I just had a small bit of business to take care of with Ozpin, and, after hearing that you were partnered with my niece…"

"I see."

Silence descended on the courtyard.

"Will you be able to keep her out of this?"

 _'_ _And wasn't that the question?'_

With a deadly serious face, Jaune looked contemplatively towards the sky.

"I don't know Qrow, I just don't know. All I can do is promise you my best."

Qrow nodded and with a sigh, and scratched the back of his head.

"I guess that's all I can ask. See you around kid."

With that, Qrow walked off, leaving Jaune to his thoughts.

 _'_ _What am I going to do?'_

* * *

Authors Note: Edited for Grammer


End file.
